About the Young Writers Project
YWP, an independent nonprofit based in Burlington, Vermont, engages young people to write and use digital media to express themselves with clarity and power and to gain confidence and skills for the workplace and life. YWP publishes about 1,000 students’ work each year here, in newspapers across Vermont, on Vermont Public Radio and in YWP’s monthly digital magazine, The Voice. Since 2006, it has offered young people a place to write, explore and connect online at youngwritersproject.org, which has only one rule: Be respectful. For more information, please contact YWP executive director Geoffrey Gevalt at ggevalt@youngwritersproject.org.
Abhi Dodgson, a 13-year-old student at Mater Christi School in Burlington, writes about the sounds and sights he encounters on his sunset runs near his home in South Hero.
Sunset Running
By Abhi Dodgson
[I] disappear into the setting sun, my feet carrying me at a fast, steady pace. The trees glow, almost like they are welcoming me into the forest.
My feet pound down on the dirt road, but the pain doesn’t come. Instead contentment floats through my body, like the feeling I get when I hit the finish line. Birds chirp and the crickets have started their nightly songs as I hit mile two. Two and a half more to go.
I smile. Water from the lake laps up against the rocks.
A few people who share my love of sunset running pass me – we nod a quiet exchange, acknowledging the beauty surrounding us.
My feet hit the ground with a rhythmic pattern sending up little plumes of dust after each step. I turn around and start my journey back home, saving a bit of energy for that last hill. After recovering from injuries, this just hits the spot.